I Was a Swordsman in Ancient Japan

The east is full of morning glow.

Rows of golden clouds seem to be waiting for the sun, like courtiers greet their king

It's pretty nice weather today.

Hasegawa woke up when the sky just dawned.

For the sake of office convenience, Hasegawa moved his residence into the headquarters of Huofu Thief Gai.

As soon as he woke up, Hasegawa got up from the quilt, and then walked slowly to the window not far away.

After opening the window, beams of sunlight immediately poured into the room like a flood.

Looking at the sun rising from the horizon and the light blue sky, a satisfied smile slowly appeared on Hasegawa's face.

As he gets older, Hasegawa likes sunny days more and more.

Because once it is cloudy or rainy, Hasegawa will feel some pain in his knees and elbows of his hands.

And it's getting more and more painful.

About 2 years ago, the pain was still of the type that was neither painful nor itchy.

But gradually, this pain has reached the level that makes Hasegawa very upset.

I have seen many doctors, but nothing is good.

At the end of last year, after receiving treatment from an orchid doctor in Edo, the disease finally improved.

But the good times didn't last long - not long after, the old Nakamatsudaira Sadanobu promulgated the "Prohibition of Abnormal Schools", prohibiting all alien schools headed by Lanxue.

The Orchid Medicine Museum was designated as exclusive to the shogunate, and the spread of exotic medical techniques such as orchid medicine was also curbed.

In order to avoid being affected by the "Forbidden Studies", the orchid doctor who could cure Hasegawa's disease moved out of Edo overnight, and Hasegawa didn't know where he settled down now.

The only doctor who could cure his disease was gone, and Hasegawa didn't know what to do with his disease in the future.

Looking at the nice weather outside the window, I thought of my illness, and after thinking of my illness, I thought of the orchid doctor who could cure me ——After the thoughts jumped several times like this, a helpless sigh spit out from Hasegawa's mouth.

After Matsudaira Sadanobu took over the position of "former old middle school" Tanuma Yiji three years ago and became the new old middle school of the shogunate, he carried out many shogunate reforms in the name of "revitalizing the power of the shogunate".

Hasegawa himself can't count how many fields Matsudaira Sadanobu has reformed in the past three years.

The promulgation of the "Prohibition on Abnormal Studies" is a new reform promulgated by Matsudaira Sadanobu in a short period of time.

Regarding the various reforms promulgated by Matsudaira Sadanobu in the past three years, Hasegawa has some approval and some opposition.

Hasegawa was opposed to the promulgation of the "Ban on Foreign Studies".

Hasegawa felt that at the very least, foreign medicine should not be banned.

Although many people say that Lan medicine is useless, after trying several times to have Lan medicine diagnose and treat him, Hasegawa feels that Lan medicine is not a useless medical skill.

It's a pity—although he was opposed to some of Matsudaira's reforms, Hasegawa didn't dare to raise his opinion with Matsudaira.

First of all, his official position is not high enough to give opinions to Matsudaira Sadanobu face to face.

Secondly——Because of Renzushouchang, Matsudaira Sadanobu is currently looking at Hasegawa very disliked.

He didn't want to provoke Matsudaira Sadanobu at this juncture.

Standing in front of the window, Hasegawa stretched his muscles a few times, was about to leave the room to wash up briefly, and then devoted himself to today's business affairs, when Yamazaki's voice suddenly sounded outside the door:

"Master Hasegawa."

"It's Yamazaki, what's wrong?"

"The Makimura Yahachi from last night is here again. He also brought a companion, and they are now outside the gate of the headquarters."

"Huh?" Hasegawa frowned, "Makimura Yahachi? Did he explain why he came?"

"Yes. He said that he wanted to talk more about what happened last night with you, Hasegawa. Yahachi Makimura also said that he wanted Mr. Hasegawa to take the initiative to find them at the gate of the headquarters."

After hearing the words "what happened last night", Hasegawa's pupils suddenly shrank.

"...I see. Yamazaki, tell Yahachi Makimura for me now: wait for me a moment."

...

...

Hasegawa completed a series of things that must be done when he just woke up and was about to meet people, such as washing, changing clothes, and putting on a bun, as quickly as possible.

After rushing to the gate of the headquarters alone, Hasegawa saw Mucun's burly body not far from the gate.

As for the young warrior standing next to Mucun, Hasegawa didn't recognize him.

It was a young samurai with an unremarkable appearance, who looked like a simple peasant.

The hilts and scabbards of the two sabers at his waist are covered with handles and sheaths, so that people can't even see what the hilts and scabbards of the two sabers at his waist look like.

It is not uncommon for this kind of person to cherish his saber and put a handle and sheath on his saber, so Hasegawa doesn't think there is anything wrong with the young samurai wrapping his saber tightly. It's strange that he only regards this young man as Mucun's friend.

Walking quickly to the front and back of Mucun, Hasegawa immediately exchanged greetings with Mucun.

After greeting Hasegawa for a while, Mucun introduced the young samurai standing next to him to Hasegawa.

"Master Hasegawa. Didn't you say yesterday that you really want to see what the Yicai of the sixth division who wiped out you all by himself looks like?"

"This is my friend who is talented, and recently went to work at the Shirobei club due to lack of money—Mashima Goro."

As soon as Mu Cun's voice fell, the young warrior standing beside Mu Cun bowed lightly to Hasegawa in front of him.

After Mucun's voice fell, Hasegawa was taken aback for a moment, and then said in a tone of joy:

"Are you that Mashima Goro? I've heard of your name for a long time."

For the enthusiastic Hasegawa, the young samurai standing next to Mucun didn't say a word.

"Master Hasegawa, this friend of mine is rather shy and doesn't like to talk very much. He is usually taciturn and can't say a few words a day, so please forgive me."

Hearing Mucun's words, Hasegawa nodded, the expression on his face seemed to say "I can understand".

"About what happened in Yoshihara last night, I have always wanted to apologize to you in person. It was my subordinates who took the initiative to cause trouble last night and caused you trouble."

The young samurai nodded in response.

"Okay, Master Hasegawa, that's all for the greetings." Mu Cun pouted at the Huofu thief in front of him and opened the door, "Can you take us to a quiet room like the one last night? Let's talk about what happened last night."

...

...

Hasegawa directly brought Mucun and the young samurai back to the quiet room where he and Mucun spyed last night.

As soon as he sat down in this quiet room, Mucun directly said to Hasegawa:

"Hasegawa-sama, although I don't have the ability to participate in the "Imperial Trial", I wish you a helping hand, but my super-strong friend: Mashima-kun is willing to help you with this favor."

When he said the word "super strong", Mucun specially emphasized his tone, raised his hand and patted the shoulder of the young warrior beside him.

Hearing this and seeing this move, Hasegawa's eyes and eyebrows immediately showed a bit of joy.

However, not long after this happy look appeared on his face, Hasegawa's expression froze.

"Hasegawa, you should..."

Before Hasegawa finished speaking, Mucun, who guessed what Hasegawa wanted to say, took the lead and said:

"Don't worry, Hasegawa-sama, I just told my friends that Hasegawa Heizo, who was modified by Huofu Thief, wants more masters to participate in the 'Imperial Trial' for some reasons."

In order to allow the conversation to proceed smoothly, Mu Cun let out an insignificant little lie.

Seeing that Mucun did not tell the real reason why he wanted as many masters as possible to participate in the "Imperial Trial", Hasegawa's slightly froze expression relaxed.

"Although I can let this good friend of mine participate in the 'Imperial Trial', we have some conditions."

"Conditions?" Hasegawa raised his eyebrows, "What conditions?"

"Master Hasegawa." Mucun's expression became a little more serious, "We hope you can tell us the exact location of the Shiranui base."

"And for a period of time in the future, help us keep an eye on the movements of the ninjas in Shiranui. Especially the movements of their leader Balrog."

Hearing Mucun's words, Hasegawa's entire face was filled with astonishment.

"...Makimura." Hasegawa said in a deep voice, "What do you want to do if you don't know the information in the fire?"

"...Master Mucun." Mucun smiled wryly, "I won't hide it from you."

"The reason why some of my companions and I came to Edo is because of Shiranui."

"As for what it's for...it's only up to your imagination."

Mucun responded to Hasegawa's question with a vague answer.

After Hasegawa looked up and down Mucun several times with strange eyes, he sighed lightly:

"...Even if you don't say it, when I heard that you want to know the exact location of Shiranui and want me to help you keep an eye on the movements of the ninjas in Shiranui, I can roughly guess what you are going to do..."

"Makimura, do you have any enmity with Shiranui?"

"I don't have any enmity with Shiranui." Mu Cun shrugged, "The reason is more difficult to explain to you..."

"... Forget it, if you don't want to explain, then I won't force you." Hasegawa sighed softly again, "Can I tell you the exact location of Shiranui and help you pay attention to Shiranui's movements..."

"It's good to help you keep an eye on Shiranui's movements...it's not difficult."

"But let me tell you the exact location of Shiranui... I don't know the exact location of Shiranui's base, I only know its approximate location."

"Master Hasegawa, don't you know where the exact location of Shiranui is?" Mucun looked puzzled.

After Hasegawa nodded lightly, he said:

"Shiranui is under the direct jurisdiction of the general, and even the old middle-aged man has no way to dictate to the ninjas in Shiranui."

"As far as I know, it was the Balrog, the leader of Shiranui, who asked the general not to announce their specific locations."

"I heard that Shiranui's base was attacked by foreign enemies, so since then, Shiranui has paid great attention to keeping the location of his base secret."

"And the general also agreed to them."

"The only ones who know the exact location of Shiranui are probably the General and a few high-ranking officials headed by Mr. Lao Zhong."

"But although I don't know the exact location of Shiranui, I still know their approximate location."

"Approximate location..." Mucun said in a joking tone, "Master Hasegawa, I also know the approximate location of Shiranui, it's near Edo."

"The approximate location I mentioned is not so broad." Hasegawa said in a helpless tone, "The approximate location of the Shiranui base that I know is much more specific than what you just said."

Speaking of this, Hasegawa paused.

After looking up at Mucun and the "Mashima" next to Mucun, he said in a deep voice:

"Makimura, if you don't want to elaborate on why you want information from Shiranui, then I won't ask too much."

"Whether it's to tell you the approximate location of Shiranui's base, or to help you take the initiative to keep an eye on the movements of the ninjas in Shiranui, it's not difficult for me."

"If you want to use these two points as the conditions for Mashima-kun to participate in the 'Gozen Trial', then I would be very happy."

Hearing Hasegawa's words, Mucun and "Mashima" looked at each other in unison.

"Mashima" nodded first.

After seeing "Mashima" nodding, Mucun also nodded.

"Then—" Mucun turned his gaze back to Hasegawa, "Master Hasegawa, I will trouble you."

"Afterwards, please tell us the approximate location of Shiranui, and help us take the initiative to pay attention to the movements of the ninjas in Shiranui. Especially Balrog and the movements of powerful ninjas like the 'Four Heavenly Kings'."

"It's just some small favors. Compared to allowing a master like Mashima-kun to participate in the 'Gozen Trial', it's nothing more than a trivial matter."

Having said that, Hasegawa looked at "Mashima" who was sitting next to Makimura with a smile on his face.

"A master like Mashima-kun is the one I've always hoped to be able to participate in the 'Imperial Trial'."

Hearing Hasegawa's words, "Mashima" couldn't help but smile.

Then—

"It's been a long time, Mr. Hasegawa. How should I put it... We are really destined. This is the third time we meet this year. It really is once a quarter. I doubt that we said Maybe we will see each other again somewhere at the end of this year."

"Mashima" finally spoke the first words since meeting Hasegawa just now.

As soon as the words of "Mashima" fell, Hasegawa immediately widened his eyes as if he had seen a ghost, and the eyeballs seemed to be falling out of his eye sockets.

The original posture of kneeling and sitting has become almost paralyzed.

He looked dumbfounded.

The reason why the reaction was so loud was because the voice was quite familiar to him.

"You, you are?!" Hasegawa's voice trembled slightly from surprise

"I'm sorry, Hasegawa-sama." Mucun smiled helplessly and slightly apologetically, "I can't tell you about Mashima-kun until you promise to reciprocate with us and get the consent of Brother Ogata. real identity."

"...So that's how it is." Hasegawa was silent for a while, and then showed a wry smile, "No wonder my 6th Division will be completely wiped out... So the opponent they met was you..."

"Makimura, it turns out that you were lying to me last night... I really thought Ogata went to Aizu..."

"Mr. Hasegawa, it's been a long time since we left Kyoto." Ogata smiled.

"Yeah." Hasegawa, who had regained his composure at this time, nodded, "Ogata Yidaosai, since the farewell to Kyoto, I have always wanted to thank you in person. It's a pity that after I was blown unconscious at that time, I have never been able to see you again."

"Thank me? Thank me for what?"

"If you hadn't shot and wounded the person who threw the bomb at us in time, I might have died."

Hearing Hasegawa's words, Ogata immediately remembered this incident.

Ogata and Hasegawa also had a life-threatening friendship.

We were traveling together in Kyoto 3 months ago.

When the bald man was being interrogated, if Ogata and Mucun hadn't had quick eyesight and quick hands to throw back the bomb that had been thrown into their room, otherwise Ogata and Hasegawa would have been killed by the bomb and ascended to heaven together.

"It's just a trivial matter that is not worth mentioning." Ogata said softly, "I just saved you while saving me."

Ogata has been thinking about whether to show his real body in Hasegawa since last night.

In the end, Ogata decided that if Hasegawa agreed to cooperate with them, then he would tell Hasegawa: Mashima Goro is Ogata Itsuki.

As for why you have to confess directly to Hasegawa, the main reason is also very simple - anyway, you can't hide it.

Hasegawa knew Ogata's voice, and also recognized Ogata's Sakakibara Ittoryu.

In the venue of "Gozen Trial", it is impossible for Ogata to neither make a sound nor use Sakakibara Ichidou.

And Hasegawa, who will mobilize his subordinates and friends to participate in the "Imperial Trial", the possibility of going to observe the "Imperial Trial" is simply not too high.

Under the circumstances that Hasegawa knew his voice and what kind of swordsmanship he used, it was difficult to hide it from Hasegawa for a long time.

It's better to admit it directly.

Of course, there were other reasons: Ogata believed that Hasegawa would not do anything to him at this juncture, and - even if Hasegawa had malicious intentions towards him, there was no way to do anything to him.

"Master Hasegawa, please add one more condition." Ogata said in a half-joking tone, "Before I leave Edo, please don't come to arrest me."

Hearing Ogata's words with a strong sense of joke, Hasegawa showed a look of dumbfounding:

"Understood. Anyway, I originally hoped to let you participate in the 'Imperial Trial'."

"What's more, most of the elites I changed from Huofu Thief are not in Edo now."

The helpless look on Hasegawa's face became more intense.

"In the current situation that most of the elite are not in Edo, I don't have the confidence to catch you..."

*****

*****

Recently, I don’t know what to popularize with you.

So today I would like to introduce to you a wonderful book from the Edo period.

This wonderful book is known as "jin ping mei" in Japan.

For a detailed introduction, please see the author's words below.

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . Mobile version reading website: